Like other branches of social science, research on economic sanctions is influenced by shifts in the social environment. The roots of modern sanctions can be traced to the criminalization of war after World War I. Introduced as an alternative to warfare, initial focus in sanctions research was predominantly on evaluating their effectiveness. The endless debates around how to define the objectives of sanctions underscored this focus. Following the end of the Cold War, there was a renewed expectation for sanctions to uphold universal values, such as human rights, leading to vigorous debates on the implementation of smart sanctions designed to minimize civilian suffering. Today, following the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the sanctions imposed on Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, discussions on the effectiveness of sanctions have reemerged. Additionally, a new generation of research is exploring the reconfiguration of sanctions in the context of a digitally networked global economy and the weaponization of economic chokepoints, broadening the study of sanctions into more dynamic and complex perspectives.

Japan has entered a society with a declining population, and the working-age population is decreasing.

The question is how to maintain the remaining domestic industries and promote new industries, such as by relocating some production activities out of the country. In particular, the industrial structure is becoming increasingly concentrated in the service industry, and it is time to consider the direction for the maintenance and development of agriculture and manufacturing industries.

This paper clarifies the importance of industrial development in collaboration with agriculture and the service industry, with the manufacturing industry as the axis of the industrial structure, through the analysis of case studies of technological innovation mainly in the manufacturing industry.

Net Zero 2050, published by the IEA, calls for achieving carbon neutrality between 2011 and 2050. In this scenario, the share of fossil energy in primary energy goes from 79% to 18% and the share of renewable

energy (including hydropower) goes from 16% to 70%. This scenario is simulated using backcasting. This paper uses Kaya Identity and energy and economic statistics to show the difficulty of achieving NET ZERO in 2050. From a power engineering perspective, the paper shows the difficulty of using renewable energy as the main primary energy source. Finally, it shows that after the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it is important for Japan to go back to the basics of energy security.

Key words: NET Zero 2050, Kaya identity, Renewable Energy, Economic security, Energy security

In 2020, I engaged with the Pupalka Haiku Society, a group of creative haiku poets located in the southern Bohemia region of the Czech Republic since 2018. The Czech members planned to appreciate my haiku. I

composed only one haiku about the tragic disasters in Japan. My haiku inspired the members. They expressed their emotional impressions and wrote their haiku. I responded to them and wrote another haiku.

Haiku has two closely connected aspects: one is to enjoy making haiku, and the other is to criticize the work of others. When attending a haiku gathering, I challenged myself to read all the haiku carefully. This time, I savored each haiku at my own pace, which gave me enough time to appreciate their work more deeply. The Czech haiku poets inspired me and led me to my next creation.

Abstract In Japan, the phenomenon known as the cat boom has repeatedly occurred. The reports on TV news programs highlighted the therapeutic benefits of feline companionship. As urbanization progresses, stress levels rise, and the world becomes increasingly challenging, more people seek healing and comfort from cats. This phenomenon is not limited to Japan but can be observed in other Asian countries as well. In a cat boom, the sales of related products increase, conferring economic benefits. This paper will focus on the picture book The Healing Cat, in which a cat is a narrator, and its purported healing effects. As the title indicates, the creative intent of the book is to posit that cats can heal our hearts. This picture book employs various specific narratives to facilitate the reader's mental and behavioral liberation from external captivity, with the individual as the primary focus. The cat's words inspire readers to pursue the healing of their hearts and minds. Readers will also feel encouraged by others to embark on this journey of self-healing.

The "Dementia Café" model project, initiated in Japan in 2012, gradually gained recognition for its importance and expanded. A review of the literature on the learning experiences of students from various specialties participating in Dementia Cafés revealed commonalities and differences. Commonly, public health, nursing, and welfare students learned that Dementia Cafés serve as community interaction hubs and recognized their necessity. Nursing and occupational therapy students noticed differences between their preconceptions of dementia patients and those they met at the cafés. Differences included public health, occupational therapy, and welfare students gaining insights from their respective professional roles, while nursing students considered their involvement as community members rather than from a nursing perspective.

The author of ‘A notebook out of date’, NAKAMURA Akitoshi, who retired from his job as an office worker in 2011, has felt a sense of incongruity to the so-called ‘lost 4 decades in Japan’. In order to clarify his thoughts in regards to political, economic and social circumstances, he made scrapbooks of newspapers from, Tokyo Shimbun, The Guardian and other sources, gathered data through public materials and the internet, and read various writings of narratives and theories including ‘A brief history of Neoliberalism’ by David Harvey, ‘Silver Democracy’ by Jitsuro Terashima and more than 60 other books during his retirement.

The author shows us the scenery that Japan has been conquered by Neoliberalism, using his original charts, graphs and tables coming from his scrapbooks.